


Just a bad day

by xNovilunium



Series: Milo's story [5]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, M/M, more implied than a graphic description, school bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 08:36:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17895134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xNovilunium/pseuds/xNovilunium
Summary: Oh how Milo wished to be a fly right now and leave that place. He would give everything to be in his bed, under warm covers and sleep for the next century. This day could only become worse now and he could already hear his classmates’ whispers and sniggers. But he knew they wouldn’t try anything as long as Kai was nearby. Milo always dreaded waking up one morning and see Kai had texted him that he was sick and wouldn’t come to high school for a few days. Milo could bear the sniggers, the whispers and nicknames, but they always became more violent when he was alone. An easier prey. During those times, he always remembered his father’s words.Man up, face them and show them who you are. You’re my son, I didn’t raise a faggot.Easier said than done.





	Just a bad day

Milo rubbed his legs as he swallowed the last mouthful of his sandwich. Days were becoming colder and colder but nothing in the world would make him spend his lunch break inside with the other students. In no way would he spend time around them and put up with their critics and bullying when he could spend that moment in peace. The cold didn’t bother him that much anyway; Milo was used to this, and he had brought with him a flask full of hot tea. 

One of the supervisors had asked him more than once why he was always outside in the cold and risk catching a cold when he could eat inside. Milo had only answered that he would like it better to eat hidden in the loo rather than with people who only wanted to use him as a punching bag – to what the supervisor told him that they had worked things out and that maybe Milo was only provoking them – before going to the other courtyard, between the science and the economics buildings. Months ago, as he went to the supervisors’ office to get an absence note, they had asked him to explain his ‘personal reason’. And Milo did, not without crying. It was his light in the darkness, his hope to finally see an end to his daily abuse. He told them everything, from how it started to the reason of his absence. 

They had called the persons at fault in, and Kai as a witness. Milo hadn’t been able to focus in class that morning. Too scared of what could happen next, too scared of the aftermath. Maybe he shouldn’t have talked at all, maybe he should have stayed home and somehow convinced his father to enrol him in another high school. He could only wait and see what they would do. 

The same afternoon, just before his mathematics exam, they had waited for him in a nearby street. 

A door opened on his right, and when he raised his head, Kai waved at him. Both arms above his head. 

“Man,” he started as he crouched before Milo, “I think I’ll buy a sandwich tomorrow and eat with you. It was once again super disgusting but that’s nothing new.” 

“Want some tea to get rid of the taste?” 

“Yes, but not yours.” He said, grinning. “Come, we have two free hours. Let’s go to Starbucks!” Kai grabbed him by the hand and dragged him to the centre town without even giving Milo time to protest. “At least there I can keep an eye on you.” 

“No one bothered me.” 

“Let’s say I believe you. But starting from tomorrow, I’ll eat with you. I think the next meal will kill me.” 

“Oh come on, it can’t be that disgusting.” 

“Says the one who never ate at our beloved canteen.” 

Surprisingly enough, the Starbucks wasn’t as crowded as Milo had expected, especially at this hour of the day. They found a free table near the large windows and waited there for the barista to call their names for their orders. Orders Kai had insisted to pay, claiming Milo should eat something more than only a tiny sandwich, otherwise he won’t survive the rest of the day. 

“Are you sure we shouldn’t be at the library right now and study?” Milo asked, fingers playing with the end of his scarf. 

“Hell no. Taking a break from time to time doesn’t hurt, you know?” 

“Yes but, it’s an important year for us.” 

“I know! And believe me, I intend to ace this year. In no way in hell am I going to fail it again.” Kai said before picking up their orders. “But listen, if you take no breaks and spend your entire days studying, stressing about the exam at the end of the year, there’s a burnout waiting for you.” He took a sip of his green tea latte, lost in his thoughts as if he was trying to find the right words to tell him. “I’ve been there Milo. I’ve known the pressure and disappointment coming from parents. I don’t want you to be in the same state as I was.” 

Milo smiled to him. Before the beginning of this school year, he had only known Kai as being the bad boy type with crazy coloured hair who didn’t mind punching one guy or two after school. This though had turned out to be only rumours. Kai had been the first and only classmate to stand up for him when the bullying had started. The only one – for a reason Milo was still trying to put the finger on – who gladly wanted to spend time with him in and outside of school. 

“Thank you for your concern.” He smiled to him. 

“Hey, that’s what friends are for. You’re not alone Milo, don’t forget it.” 

Milo bit in his donut and looked outside, his cheeks slightly burning. “How’s Ethan?” 

He waved his hands frantically, excited Milo asked about his boyfriend, and totally ignored the fact that he was – once again – changing the topic of their conversation. Kai reached into the pocket of his coat, tapped away on the screen of his phone then showed it to Milo. The background was a picture of Kai, and Ethan sleeping on him, half of his face hidden behind his dark hair. Milo remembered the first time he had met him as if it were yesterday, and how embarrassed he had felt when he had misgendered him. He hadn’t known, Kai hadn’t told him, but Ethan had been patient enough with him. He was a nice guy who had put him at ease right away and had helped them more than once with their chemistry homework as he was majoring in that field. 

“Isn’t he the cutest?” Kai said with a fond smile on his lips, eyes focused on the screen. “But he’s in a lot of stress lately since his midterms are close. I’m trying to make him take some breaks but he’s as stubborn as you when it comes to studies.” Kai kissed the screen which made Milo snort, then put it back in the pocket of his coat. “And you by the way, is there a girlfriend or boyfriend in your life now? Or even a crush? Someone you haven’t talked about to me or Maeva?” 

“No.” 

“Are you sure?” He wiggled his eyebrows. 

“I said no.” 

His cold tone took Kai by surprise. It was the first time Milo talked to him like that and he knew he had gone too far; speaking about his own feelings had always been a hard thing to do for Milo. “I’m sorry,” He let out after a while, fingers twisting the end of his ponytail. “Man, I really should shave and dye them again. What do you think I should do? Stay with dark teal or try something else? Maybe multicoloured hair this time?” 

A nervous chuckle, and Milo felt guilt squeeze his throat. It wasn’t Kai’s fault if his relationship status was a little complicated lately. He looked at his friend, his head tilted to the side and tried to imagine it with another colour than dark teal. 

“You’d look like a clown.” 

“That would go hand in hand with my personality, right? Ok, I’ll do it if you buy the red nose.” They laughed, their little incident already forgotten. Then, something – or rather someone – in the shop caught his attention. “Hey, don’t be too obvious, but there’s an old creep looking this way.” 

Milo turned over, earning from Kai a loud “Dude! I said don’t be too obvious!” and noticed who the man in question was. The simple sight of him raised the hair on the back of his neck and he barely waved back at him. This had to be a coincidence. 

“Wait, you know him?” 

“Yeah, he’s Adeline’s brother.” He said, already putting his coat back on. “Could we leave please?” 

“Uh, sure? Wanna go back to high school?” 

Milo nodded, then left the shop without a single glance behind him. They hadn’t turned at the end of the street yet that Milo felt someone grab his wrist. 

“Ignoring me now, babe?” Damien asked before kissing Milo in front of a dumbfounded Kai. “And who’s your friend?” 

“Wait, I thought you had no one?” 

“It’s complicated.” He told him, eyes focused on his own shoes. 

“We want to keep the relationship secret for the moment,” Damien added as he wrapped his arms around Milo’s shoulders and pecked his cheek, “You see, I’m much older than Milo and some people might disagree to it, despite him being eighteen now. Could you keep the secret too?” 

Kai looked at the both of them. He swore he could see many, many tiny hearts leaving Damien’s eyes each time he was looking at Milo. His friend though, looked uncomfortable. Surely because they were in the middle of the street and Milo was quite a shy person. 

“Sure,” Kai said. “Uh, we should maybe go back to high school now right, Milo?” 

Milo only nodded, still not looking at him. 

“Aw I had hoped we could spend my lunch break together now that I got you.” 

For the first time since Damien joined them, Milo raised his head and smiled at him. “Of course, I’m sorry. I’ll see you later Kai.” 

“Don’t be late please.” 

Kai watched them leave hand in hand in the opposite direction. He felt an outburst of happiness take him; after all the shitty things that had happened to him, Milo had found someone to love and who, apparently, loved him back even more. He wanted to text Maeva and tell her how the baby of their little band had grown so much, and they should prepare themselves to see him fly the nest at any moment. Kai couldn’t help but wanting to joke about it. On the other hand, he had promised them to keep their relationship secret. Instead, he decided to send his background picture to her, knowing just how much she _adored_ when he was spamming her with pictures or random facts about his boyfriend. They could try, but Kai would never shut up about Ethan. 

* * *

The two girls sitting in front of him glared at him for the third time in the span of five minutes. Kai only smiled back at them and kept tapping his foot on the floor. Milo was late. Milo was _never_ late. Technically he still had five minutes before Mr. Rodriguez – their mathematics teacher – would close the door and start the lesson. It was new for Kai and he started to think that maybe he was ditching classes and spending the afternoon with his boyfriend. Kai hated this. Not only the fact that Milo was late, but that his boyfriend was holding him back instead of being a responsible adult and tell him to go the fuck to school. Next time he’ll see Damien, he would give him a piece of his mind. 

Kai was about to lose all hope as Mr Rodriguez walked dangerously to the door, when Milo entered the room at the very last moment. 

“Almost late, Blanchard?” Mr Rodriguez said, eyebrows raised. “I won’t be so nice next time.” 

“I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” Head down, he walked to Kai and sat next to him. 

“Busy with your boyfriend, uh?” Kai elbowed him as he was putting his notebook and pencil case on the table. 

“Yeah, you could say so.” 

“Next time tell him to be quicker. You know how he’s a stickler for punctuality and–” 

“And he’s our head teacher and can be a pain in the ass, yes, I know.” 

“I can be a much bigger pain in your ass if you don’t pay attention in my classroom.” 

Oh how Milo wished to be a fly right now and leave that place. He would give everything to be in his bed, under warm covers and sleep for the next century. This day could only become worse now and he could already hear his classmates’ whispers and sniggers. But he knew they wouldn’t try anything as long as Kai was nearby. Milo always dreaded waking up one morning and see Kai had texted him that he was sick and wouldn’t come to high school for a few days. Milo could bear the sniggers, the whispers and nicknames, but they always became more violent when he was alone. An easier prey. During those times, he always remembered his father’s words. _Man up, face them and show them who you are. You’re my son, I didn’t raise a faggot._ Easier said than done. 

From time to time, Kai would brush his fingers against the back of his hand, making sure no one could see the gesture. He was there for him, no matter the circumstances. Kai couldn’t believe how every adults Milo had talked to hadn’t believe him. Even Mr. Rodriguez who had told him one afternoon during a break when he had asked everyone to leave the classroom, how Milo should stop provoking them or even stop lying. Kai had seen red that day when he had driven him home. At only one street away from his father’s house, Milo had started to sob and had told him everything that happened in that classroom. Since that day, the little trust Kai still had in all of their teachers had vanished. 

And every time Mr. Rodriguez gave them ten minutes to do an exercise, Kai wrote reassuring words on Milo’s notebook and gave him his own as Mr. Rodriguez asked him to answer to the first exercise on the blackboard. Milo looked so frail in front of the whole class, so small. Seeing his body shaking like a leaf was breaking Kai’s heart. He was such a different person outside of high school and it was such a shame he had to wear a mask, do as if everything was all right, smile and laugh with his friends when deep down he only wanted to scream. Kai needed to have another discussion with Maeva. They all needed to keep a close eye on Milo. 

* * *

Milo waved at the car when he reached the front door, and watched it disappear on the corner of the street. He should one day thank Kai properly for all the things he has done for him. Maeva too. They both were so important to him, he could at least do something more than saying a simple ‘thank you’. 

Inside, Adeline’s voice coming from the living-room greeted him. After he’d removed his shoes and coat, he joined her on the couch and took her spoon full of ice-cream. Lemon, his favourite flavour. 

“How was your day?” He asked her, eyes focused on the TV screen. “Weren’t you too lonely?” 

“No don’t worry.” She put a spoonful of ice-cream in her mouth before giving it back to Milo. “I didn’t really have time to feel lonely between all the calls I had to make and cover letters I had to write.” 

“I’m really not looking forward to that part of my life.” They both laughed. “Oh, by the way, did you get news from Akela?” 

“No, not since I drove him home.” She sighed then gave him the bucket. She had enough ice-cream in her belly for the next week. “It's been what, two weeks? But he’s fine, he posted pictures of him and his girlfriend yesterday. Well, ‘fine’ is a big word.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“His girlfriend isn’t the healthiest person for a relationship.” 

Milo said nothing. Lost in his thoughts, he drew small shapes with the spoon. He was starting to know a few things about toxic relationships. His father. The friends he had made during his first year of high school. Damien. A shiver ran down his spine that made him let out one of the most graceless sounds he has ever made. Milo put the bucket on the coffee table, then nestled against Adeline. 

“Are you okay?” She asked running her fingers through his hair. 

“Yeah, just feeling tired,” He lied. “It was a long day.” 

“You still have time before dinner. Go rest if you want, I’ll call you.” 

He hugged her for a while, enjoying her fingers still running through his hair, then went to his room. He needed to do something to stop thinking about that afternoon otherwise he might throw up, and what could be a better distraction than his homework? He put everything on his desk, every books and workbooks he needed, a small stack of paper, put his Pikachu plush beside the desk lamp and Mr. Koala on his lap. And it worked. Milo’s mind was full of derivative and primitive functions, reaction equations, and a huge amount of facts about the Cold War. 

He didn’t know how many minutes, or even hours had passed when someone knocked on the door. Adeline poked her head around the door, and warned him that dinner was ready. Before closing it, she added that he should hurry before Maeva would only leave them bread crusts. He smiled to that and followed her downstairs – Mr. Koala against his chest – where he could already hear Maeva tell them to hurry. 

Today had only been a bad day, a new one among the many others, but he knew the girls would do everything to change his mind. Whether they knew or not how shitty this day had been.


End file.
